[moses lawn (OP)]

What are those tiny creatures often to be found in bags of flour?
How do they get there, and how can they live with (seemingly) no water at all?

[neilep]

That's a good question....I've seem them before too...almost impossible to get rid of,....They really are tiny and quite easy to miss , unless, there's a colony of them larging it 'flour style '!!..They must derive the moisture they need from the flour or perhaps the air...kitchens are often humid and perhaps, just boiling the kettle a few times a day may produce enough drink to sustain them....I'm just guessing of course , but to me it seems logical (which of course really meens it's a load of tosh []!!)

I don't know if the flour comes with them already or whether it's a little community inhabiting the cupboards.

.......... I hope we get an answer cos I have thrown away so many bags of flour and it really pisses me off !! I've made bread a few times and once I noticed the little critters in the flour after I'd eaten the bread...I survived, but it would be really good to know if these things are harmless...........or not !

I'd be surprised if the supermarket people did not know what they are.......

'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'

[neilep]

Oh JOY !!!..I just found this http://www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/th7g.htm     YUK !!   and this one http://www.ipca-india.org/flom.html ....reading the latter made me remember what I'd heard , with regard to asthma.....and I quote       "Blisters and pustules may form on the skin, and serious stomach and intestinal reactions, even asthma attacks can result from eating food infested with mites."


'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'

[tweener]

Neil, weevils are not mites and unless you have a particular allergy to them, I don't believe they are harmful - just a little extra protein in your bread.

My dad was in the navy during WWII, in the south Pacific, and relates a story about having been at sea for a couple of months.  The "meat" at their Thanksgiving dinner was the weevils and maggots cooked into the corn bread.  He said it wasn't too tasty, but certainly better than nothing.

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John - The Eternal Pessimist.

[moses lawn (OP)]

Does that mean that vegetarians, and (presumably) especially vegans cannot dare eat anything made from flour in case it contained these tiny creatures?

Rather cuts down on their dietary options if that's the case!

[neilep]

John, I never called them weevils, but thanks for your non-mite infested answer.


'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'

[tweener]

No, Neil, you never did, but since weevils is part of the title of this thread, I thought it appropriate to stay on topic with them.  Besides, I like weevils a mite better than mites. []

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John - The Eternal Pessimist.

[neilep]

quote:Originally posted by tweener

No, Neil, you never did, but since weevils is part of the title of this thread, I thought it appropriate to stay on topic with them.  Besides, I like weevils a mite better than mites. []

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John - The Eternal Pessimist.

Thanks John, hope you didn't think I mite have been upset, now that you've explained it to me, I weevily understand what you wrote []

'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'

[bezoar]

I'll tell you what we were taught in the deep south, because it's so humid here and those weevils are in flour, corn meal, even paprika.  I've heard that the eggs are always in the flour, and under the right conditions, they hatch and grow.  To avoid them, we keep flour based products in the refrigerator.  Generally, if you use it on a regular basis, you won't have it long enough for the eggs to hatch.